Play Date Gone Bad
by Topazicatzbeth
Summary: A play date with Grace's friend leaves Danny fighting for his life.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Finally got this one finished. RL has kept me busy this past week. Hope you enjoy it. Many thanks to wenwalke.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own H50**

**Chapter One**

Danny slowly blinked, once, twice, a third time. His eyes felt heavy and his brain felt like cotton wool, he blinked again in an attempt to clear the fog. He was lying on his back, in his kitchen, an ever growing pool of his blood surrounded him. A bowl of sliced fruit scattered across the floor, now stained red with his blood, and the faucet still running. He stared up at the ceiling fan, the blades merging into one continuous blur and their hum strangely comforting him. Seeing the remains of a dead spider in the globe of the light at the centre of the fan, he thought to himself that he really should clean the light fitting. There was a deep ache in his back, but that was nothing compared to the sharp pain that felt like it was ripping his chest open with every breath.

Desperate to reduce the pain Danny attempted a weak cough, but was only rewarded with a metallic taste in his mouth as speckles of blood fell onto his face.

The attack had taken him completely by surprise and left him incapacitated, instantly. The chill of his attacker's final words to him still rang in his ears. Danny allowed his eyes to close, the darkness calling him as his body grew increasingly heavy, and an instant coldness overcame him.

Then he heard it, the desperate call of his daughter. He couldn't distinguish what she was screaming, her word lost amongst the buzzing in his ears. But he forced his eyes to snap open. He recognised the call of her friend Marley, and knew they were coming from the direction of Grace's bedroom, where he had last seen the girls playing. A friendly play date had gone so wrong.

He tried to roll on to his side, so he could push himself up, to try to get to his beloved daughter. He had to make sure she was ok, had to protect her. He had no idea if his attacker was even still in the house, were they hurting the girls? Was his daughter's life in danger? He heard banging, and the shouting continued. But a searing pain ripped through him from his back to the front of his chest, and stole every bit of his breath. Flopping on to his back once more, he coughed again, attempting to shift the pain, but once again the taste of blood hit the back of his throat, and a metallic smell hung in the air.

Dragging in a breath and then releasing it, he heard the gurgle as more blood pooled in the back of his throat. He was unable to move, as his body was wracked with pain, and desperately trying to get air into his lungs he felt the world start to slip. His vision had now tunnelled, eyes open to mere slits. He could feel his heart pounding within his chest. Beating so fast it felt as if it was trying to make its own get away from the pain.

There was a sudden screech of tires as a vehicle tore into his drive. Danny knew the sound of the engine, would recognise it anywhere. He had heard it roar into life so many times as he helped Steve work on his dad's old Mercury Marquis. Super SEAL was here to save the day. He would make sure Grace, and her friend Marley, were safe; would take care of them, when Danny couldn't. Would track down his attacker and make them pay. Hearing the car door slam closed he allowed his eyes to close all the way, the darkness swallowing him whole. A last small breath left his lungs, and his body failed to take the next breath.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Wow thank you for all the reviews. They're great. Just what I needed as both me and my two boys are dying ducks, full of cold. **

**Sorry the first chapter was so short but it just had to be. Now this one fills in the answers. **

**Chapter Two**

It was Saturday afternoon and for once Danny hadn't been called in to work. Grace had spent the morning doing her homework and had then begged Danny to let her invite Marley, her best friend, over for an hour or two. Danny had finally conceded and let Grace call to invite her over, however he wasn't over the moon when she told him Ian, Marley's manny would be coming too. Danny had met the man twice before, in the three weeks he had been looking after Marley. The first time he seemed nice, and Danny was grateful to have some one to talk to amongst all the business types at the school function. However the second time, Danny had felt a little unsure by his behaviour. Ian had laughed, and joked, and placed his hand on Danny arm for a little too long, and Danny felt uneasy about the man invading his personal space. Deciding he was just being paranoid, he shrugged it off. Marley seemed to like her new manny, and it made a welcome change from all the other kids nannies, or mothers, flirting with him. Something about the gun and badge obviously screamed flirt with me.

There was a knock at the door, and Danny nearly tripped over Grace as she raced to the door to open it. Danny held back, amused by his daughter's eagerness, as Marley raced in followed by Ian.

"Come to my room." Grace said grabbing hold of Marley's hand. "I have my laptop set up, and I have some cool pictures to show you." With that both girls disappeared out of sight.

"Hey man." Danny said shaking Ian's hand in a friendly way. "You fancy a coffee, while those two drool over pictures of some guys that are in desperate need of a belt to hold up their pants?"

"Sure that would be nice." Ian smiled and moved over to the couch. Danny turned and headed to the kitchen, so Ian looked around the room admiring the mismatched furniture that made the room look homely. The Parker's house was so formal, full of priceless antiques and paintings covering the walls. Instead, Danny's walls were covered with photos, mainly of Grace, and some of the pair of them. He stood and moved over to the one wall that hosted a collage of pictures. There was Danny and Grace again, but this time a dark haired man was with them in many of the pictures. The two men looked very close, and Ian instantly felt jealous.

"Here you go." Danny said returning to the room and handing Ian a mug.

"Grace looks so cute in these photos." Ian said, making conversation. "Looks like you had a fun day. Who's the other guy, Grace's step-father?"

"Oh, no, that's not Step Stan. That's Steve, my partner. Grace loves him to bits, and he's a real goof around her." Danny explained sitting on the couch.

"Oh." Ian replied still staring at the pictures.

"So did you manage to get your night off?" Danny asked, remembering the conversation he had had previously with Ian about him wanting to go to the opening of a new restaurant belonging to his friends.

"I did yeah, it was a real success. If you ever want reservations there, just let me know. I can get you the best table in the house." Ian replied.

"I'll bear that in mind, thanks." Danny answered politely.

The two sat drinking their coffee and making conversation, Danny feeling a little uncomfortable, from time to time, as he felt Ian staring at him a little longer than most people would. The conversation moved on to cooking, Danny having just learnt new skills now that Grace lived with him most of the time, and one of Ian's jobs, besides taking care of Marley, was to cook for the Parkers.

Danny started to relax, laughing with Ian as they moved on to talking about the girls crush on the latest boy band to hit the nation. But that all went out of the window when Ian suddenly leaned forward and brushed his lips against Danny's. Taken by surprise Danny quickly pushed Ian away, and shuffled away from him further along the sofa, "whoa, what was that?"

"I know the girls are in the other room but they're busy, they won't see." Ian relied attempting to move closer to Danny. "Don't you feel it? We have a connection. I know you have a partner but we could be good."

Danny shuffled back again, this time falling off the couch and landing on the floor. He quickly sprang to his feet, hands out in front of him. "Ian, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. But I'm not interested in you. I'm not gay."

"It's ok, if you're not out yet, we can keep it a secret. Of course you'll need to break it off with your partner, but we can have something good."

"No. No we can't. I told you. I'm not gay. My partner is my boss. My work partner, you know? Cop partners. I'm sorry, you seem like a nice guy, and it's nice to hang out with someone who isn't Grace's school friend's parents that are all rich as hell. I don't exactly fit in with them."

"Oh." Ian said looking at the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm so stupid. We should go."

Danny now felt sorry for the guy. "No stay. The girls are having fun. How about I take the girls a snack, and we watch a game I recorded. We don't have to make this awkward."

Ian looked up, embarrassment written all over his face. "Ok, thanks. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom. Clean up a bit."

"Sure." Danny said moving into the kitchen and allowing the man to regain his composure.

Ian went into the bathroom and turned on the taps, splashing water on to his face. _How could I be wrong, we have a connection, I know we do. _He thought_. Maybe he's lying to me. He has to be lying to me. Yes that's it, rather than hurt my feelings. He should be with me. Not anyone else_. Ian could feel the anger rising, replacing the embarrassment. _I want him. If I can't have him..._

Ian shut off the water and dried his hands and face. His heart racing in his chest, and adrenaline coursing through his veins, he left the bathroom. He passed Grace's bedroom, where both girls lay on the floor at the far side of the bed, surfing the internet. Without the girls noticing, he removed the chair from Grace's desk and shut the bedroom door, wedging the door handle so the girls couldn't leave the room.

Moving back through the house he saw Danny in the kitchen. He was stood at the sink washing the fruit he had just sliced. The knife lay on the kitchen island, the sun from the window glinting on its long stainless steel blade.

Moving quickly, but quietly, he grabbed the knife and thrust it into Danny's back at an upwards angle, driving the knife into his obsessions lung. Danny let out a gasp and the bowl fell, the fruit covering the floor. Ian moved in closer and whispered in Danny's ear, "If I can't have you. No one can." He pulled the knife out, and Danny fell forward, desperately trying to catch his breath and remain upright by clinging to the sink. Ian calmly turned around and walked out of the house, taking the knife with him. A trail of blood drops were left in his wake, and he ignored the thud as Danny collapsed to the floor.

Reaching his car he got in and threw the knife on the passenger seat. Taking a few deep breaths to try and calm himself, the realisation of what he had just done hit him. He fisted the steering wheel causing the horn to sound each time he punched it, hard. "Shit! Shit! Shit! What did I just do?" He'd messed up again, let his temper get the better of him, and it was as if he wasn't in control of his actions or thoughts. Grabbing hold of the wheel, and resting his head on its centre, he took a few deep breaths. Then slowly he raised his head, and calmly started the engine, knowing he had to make a fast get away, grab some of his things, and lie low until he could attempt to get off of the island.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"He is so scrummy." Marley said as they brought up pictures from the bands latest concert. The lead boy had blonde floppy hair that had a natural wave to it.

"I prefer Sam." Grace announced, "I like the way he gels his hair, all spiked, and his blue eyes, he's sooo hot." Both girls giggled then looked up as they heard a car horn sound outside. An engine started up and roared out of the drive. "Was that Ian's car? I thought he was staying."

"So did I? Maybe your dad is gonna drive me home." Marley said confused.

Grace stood and saw the door closed. "Did you close the door? I though I left it open."

"No, it was open." Marley answered frowning.

Grace went over to the door and tried to open it, but found the handle wouldn't budge.

"Is it locked?" Marley asked as Grace kept trying the handle.

"It doesn't have a lock, it can't be. Danno!" She yelled expecting her dad to come and fix the door handle, somehow. When she got no reply she tried again. "Danno, we're stuck."

"Maybe he can't hear you. Let's try together and bang on the door." Marley suggested and both girls started banging.

"Danno!"

"Mr. Williams!"

"Something's wrong." Grace said pulling out her phone. "Danno would have come by now. Why did Ian leave so fast?"

She pulled up Steve's number and hit dial. "Hey Gracie, what's up sweetheart?"

"I don't know Uncle Steve, something's wrong. Marley and I are trapped in my bedroom, and Danno's not answering when I call him. Marley's manny just drove off really fast, but we thought he was staying."

"Ok, Grace. Don't worry. Danny is probably just outside and can't hear you. I'm actually only a block away from your house. I was coming over to show your dad something. I'll be there in a minute, ok?"

"Ok." Grace replied, then hung up the phone and returned to yelling for her father, and banging on the door.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Steve increased the pressure on the accelerator as he turned the final corner on to Danny's street. He had been on his way over to show Danny the latest work he had done on the Marquis, and if he was honest with himself, he wanted to gloat that he had managed to do it himself and not had to take it to a mechanic, like Danny suggested. Now Grace's call had him concerned.

He slammed on the breaks as he pulled into Danny's drive, right behind the Camaro. He moved quickly to grab his knife, wishing he had his gun with him.

Steve opened the front door and could clearly hear Grace, and her friend, calling out and banging on the door. Scanning the living room his heart slammed to a halt for a second, as he saw the trail of blood drops leading to the kitchen.

Cautiously he followed the trail and peered around the kitchen door, more blood drops disappearing behind the kitchen island. Steve quickly moved around, seeing the kitchen held no threats, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the sight in front of him.

His best friend lay lifeless in a pool of blood.

"Shit, Danny." He said dropping to his knees by his best friend's side. His hand shaking from the adrenaline burst, and trying not to panic, he carefully felt for a pulse, trying his best to ignore the shouts of the girls from the bedroom. Finally he found a pulse, weak and thready, a pulse none the less, but it was obvious Danny wasn't breathing.

"Grace." Steve yelled out, as he pulled out his phone. First rule of resuscitation, get help, he told himself.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace yelled back.

"Grace, call Chin, get him and Kono here, now." He demanded as he dialled 911 and requested an ambulance.

"Uncle Steve, where's Danno? Is he ok?" A scared voice yelled back.

"I need you to stay where you are Grace. Call Chin." Steve yelled, before attempting to force air into his best friend's lungs.

He tried twice, but struggled to get much of a chest rise. He quickly rolled Danny over, and was able to see the stab wound to the right side of his back. Laying him back flat, he quickly wiped his partner's blood from around his mouth then lurched to his feet, desperately looking for something he could use.

Steve was trained in emergency field medicine, and knew the knife had hit his partner's lung, causing it to instantly collapse, and his chest cavity to fill with air, and most likely blood. He needed to release that, if he had any chance of getting Danny to breathe again. Pulling open a draw, he finally found something he could work with, a bright pink, plastic, curly straw that had a small plastic pineapple attached to it.

Taking his knife he quickly shaved off the end into a sharp point, then ripped open Danny's shirt. Steve then had to take a second to force back the nerves, unable to believe he was about to cut into his best friends chest. Hand shaking a little, he quickly felt down Danny's ribs. Locating the space between the second and third, he placed his knife in line with the middle of Danny's clavicle. Fighting to still his shaking hand, he quickly made an incision in the skin then grabbed the straw, "pull it together." He shouted to himself before forcing the straw into Danny's chest, and letting out a relieved sigh as he heard hissing as air escaped. He then grabbed a food bag and placed it over the end of the straw to act as a one way valve, so air could only escape and not add more.

He quickly checked Danny's pulse again then moved on to attempting to force air into Danny's lungs. This time Danny's chest rose much better, so Steve continued to breathe for his best friend, all the time aware of the pool of blood soaking into his cargo pants. He continued like this for what felt like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, before the sirens of the ambulance could be heard, and Ani and Jonah, two EMTs that the team were very familiar with, burst into the house and Steve yelled at them to direct them to the kitchen.

"What we got Steve." Ani immediately asked as she dropped down beside the partners and opened her bag, grabbing out the equipment to intubate Danny.

"Grace called, worried, I found him like this. He's been stabbed in the back." Steve informed them sitting back on his haunches and taking big breaths to try and calm him self.

"Your handy work?" She asked indicating the straw and bag with a nod of her head, as she titled Danny's head back to expose his airway better. "Gonna need some suction, Jonah." She shouted, and seconds later Jonah was there with the portable suction, clearing Danny's airway of the blood that had pooled there.

The two EMTs worked skilfully to secure Danny's airway, then passed Steve the bag to continue forcing oxygen in to his lungs. "Nice and steady, Steve, not too hard," Ani coached as she moved to secure IV access and connected a bag of crystalloid fluids, knowing Danny needed volume and quick, to replace all the blood he had lost. Jonah secured Steve's crude attempt at a needle decompression, and connected Danny to the monitor, then ran to grab the gurney from the ambulance.

"We need to scoop and run, Steve, this is bad. You've bought him some time with your straw trick but he needs the hospital, now." Ani said looking the Commander in the eye. She had never seen him looking this scared before, his brain was obviously still trying to catch up with the events that had unfolded. His hands were still shaking, but he was managing to keep up a nice steady rhythm with the oxygen bag, and Danny's colour was slowly improving from a dusky gray, to white as a sheet.

"Oh my god," Kono cried as she's skidded to a halt in the kitchen doorway and stared at the scene in front of her.

"Kono, Grace and her friend are trapped in her bedroom. Please can you go to her? She must be scared out of her mind. Don't let her in here, though." Steve ordered making eye contact with Kono that silently said no daughter should see her father die.

Kono immediately swung around and ran to Grace's bedroom. Finding a chair wedged under the handle she quickly removed it, and flung open the door. Both girls were sat on the bed, arms around each other, sobbing. Marley attempting to comfort Grace, who knew something bad must have happened to her Danno for Uncle Steve not to have come to her aid straight away, and the ambulance arriving had confirmed her fears.

"Auntie Kono." Grace sobbed, leaping from the bed and into Kono's arms. Her face was stained with tears, and the sobs shook her body. "Auntie, where's Danno?"

"He's with Steve and the medics. Grace, no." She called grabbing Grace as she had tried to run passed her, to her father. "Grace, you can't go out there, your dad wouldn't want you to see him like that."

"What's wrong? What's happened?" Grace sobbed desperate for news on the father.

"Your dad's hurt, Grace. It's bad. What happened? What do you know?" Kono asked steering Grace back into the room, and shutting the door behind them. She and Grace sat on the bed, and Kono beckoned Marley over too, so she was sandwiched between two very scared little girls. Trying hard to force back her own tears, and keep her voice calm, so not to scare them further, she asked again. "Girls, what happened?"

Grace sat sobbing, curled into her Aunties chest, trying to catch her breath, so Marley answered. "I came over to play, with Ian my Manny. We were on the internet, in here, when a car horn sounded, then Ian's car drove away, fast. Then we noticed the door was shut and we couldn't open it. So we called for help, but Mr. Williams didn't answer. So...so...Grace called her Uncle." Marley managed to finish before breaking down herself, once again.

Kono clung to both girls, desperately trying not to break down her self. She had to stay strong for them, but she knew, from the few seconds she had seen Danny, and the fear in her boss's eyes, that things were very bad. Danny was clinging to life by a thread, and no one knew what had happened, but Danny and the mysteriously disappearing Ian.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: thanks for all the reviews. Glad your enjoying it. Lots more drama to come. **

**Chapter Four**

Chin arrived with Leilani in tow, just as Danny was wheeled out of the house. Ani had now taken over his airway from Steve, and pulled the gurney along. Jonah pushing, his eyes glued to the monitor. Steve ran alongside squeezing the bag of fluids.

Leilani took hold of Chin's hand as he stared at his friend's lifeless body rushing past him.

"Chin." Steve yelled, snapping the older detective from his trance. "Kono is with the girls in Grace's room. I need you both to lock down the scene, and take care of the girls. I need to be with Danny."

"Of course," Chin replied moving alongside the medical team, his eyes focused on the pink straw protruding from Danny's chest. "What the hell happened?"

"He was stabbed. Looks like it was by Grace's, friends, nanny, but he could also have got caught up in something and taken. I need you to check it out."

"He was stabbed with a straw?" Chin asked confused.

"No, I did that. He was stabbed in the back. No sign of the knife." Steve replied as he climbed in the back of the ambulance, leaving Chin more confused than ever, and wondering why Steve had put a straw in his best friend's chest.

The doors were shut, and the ambulance peeled away, sirens blazing, leaving the neighbours stood, trying to work out what had happened. Chin turned to Leilani, "you should wait here."

"I'd like to help with the girls, if I can?" She replied sweetly, to which Chin nodded and led the way to Grace's room. Chin took a deep breath before entering. He opened the door, and was greeted with three tear stained faces.

"Steve's gone with Danny to the hospital." Chin informed Kono, to which he received a nod.

"What happened to him, Uncle Chin? How was he hurt? Why did Ian run off like that and leave him hurt?" Grace asked, her sobs now more under control.

"Grace, did you see Ian leave?" Chin asked. If the girls had seen him leave then they could rule out any other suspects straight away.

Grace shook her head. "We didn't see him, but we heard his horn and the car leave." Marley explained. "Did he hurt Mr. Williams?"

"We don't know yet." Chin replied

"Didn't Danno tell you what happened?" Grace asked innocently.

"Grace, your dad couldn't tell us what happened, he was...asleep when we got here." Kono explained. Not wanting to tell Grace that her father was unconscious, and dying.

"Oh, did he hit his head?" Grace asked, trying to piece everything together.

"No Gracie, your dad has been stabbed. He is hurt pretty bad, but he is in good hands, and Steve has gone with him." Chin answered truthfully, knowing that Danny didn't like to lie to Grace, but not wanting to tell her just how touch and go it was for Danny.

Grace immediately started to cry again and turned back into Kono who kissed the top of her head.

"I'm gonna call in CSU." Chin said. "Marley, do you know what car Ian drives?"

"No, it's black, but I don't know what it is. My dad would know." She sniffed. "Why would Ian hurt Mr. Williams?"

"We don't know if he did, yet. But has Ian ever acted strangely before, shouted at you?" Chin questioned, he was keen to know more about this Ian.

"He has shouted at me a few times, if I haven't done what I was asked to do. But I thought it was my fault for making him mad. But I never thought he would hurt someone. Please, I want to go home now, I want my mom."

"We'll take you home soon, ok. We need to speak to your parents about Ian."

"I want to go to the hospital." Grace announced. "Danno needs me."

"How about we take Marley home, speak to her parents, and then we will all go." Kono suggested.

"No, he needs me now. I want to go now." Grace said jumping off the bed and startling them all.

"How about I take her?" Leilani suggested. "Grace, would that be ok? If I drove you to the hospital? We can find Steve, and find out how your dad is."

Grace nodded eagerly and ran over to hug Leilani.

"Thank you." Chin mouthed to his girlfriend. Then stood and pulled out his phone to call Charlie, and the rest of his team.

"How about we wait outside?" Kono suggested then, steered the girls out of the house being careful to block their view of the kitchen, and trying her best to avoid the blood trail across the living area.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Thirty minutes later CSU were swarming over Danny's kitchen. Leilani was on her way to the hospital with a now very quiet Grace. Chin and Kono had just returned a shaken Marley to her parents.

"You really think Ian did this?" Mr. Parker asked concerned.

"At the moment we are unsure what happened, but he is our number one suspect. How did you come to employ Ian Richards?"

"We placed an ad. He was the best candidate. I thought it was a little strange, having a male nanny, but his references were fantastic." Mr. Parker explained.

"Did you clarify his references with the people that wrote them?" Kono asked.

"No, no we didn't." Mrs. Parker replied, realising that they were probably fake, and her eyes filled with horror.

"I still have them." Mr. Parker said standing and leaving the room.

"Is Grace's father going to be ok?" Mrs. Parker asked tears visible in her eyes.

"We are waiting to hear, but he was in serious condition." Chin replied.

"Oh god, and we let this man live in our home for the past three weeks. He looked after our daughter. If anything had happened to her..." Mrs. Parker said breaking down and sobbing as she pulled Marley in closer.

"He's been here." Mr. Parker said running back into the room. "I fetched the references from my office and my wallet and Rolex is missing. I went to check his room, and his clothes are gone. He came back, got his things, and stole from us. He did do it, didn't he?"

"It certainly looks like it now." Chin said reaching for his phone and putting out an APB for Ian Richards, and his car.

"Thank you for the references, Mr. Parker." Kono said standing and taking the pieces of paper he held in his hand. "We will follow these up. Right now we need to get to the hospital. We will send an HPD officer over to take your statement about the stolen things."

"Yes, of course. I don't mind about the money, he needs catching before he hurts anyone else. He seemed nice, we trusted him with the most precious thing in our lives."

"Don't worry Mr. Parker, we will find him, and you have quite an amazing daughter there. She did a great job giving us information and taking care of Grace. Grace is lucky to have such a good friend." Kono said smiling at Marley.

"Thank you and I hope Detective Williams pulls through. If there is anything we can do. We will gladly have Grace come stay with us, if needed. I know he's a single father, now her mother moved to the mainland." Mrs. Parker replied.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you, but we can take care of Grace. She's our Ohana." Chin said shaking both their hands and leaving the house, heading to the hospital.

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: who's ready to find out how Danny is doing? Loving the reviews. Please keep them coming. **

**Chapter Five**

The ride to the hospital had been fast, and Steve found himself thrown around, leaving him nauseous. Then again that could be due to the fact that his best friend was fighting for his life right in front of him, and it looked like he was starting to lose that battle.

Danny's blood pressure, and oxygen levels, had begun to drop, and Ani was working fast to secure more IV access in a hope of replacing the blood volume Danny was losing. Doors were thrown open, and medical staff descended on them, and soon they were on the run down the corridor.

Steve was relieved to see Dr. Pearce on duty, and she immediately took charge. Dr. Pearce had taken care of the team on many occasions, and the team all felt confident in her ability. The petite blonde doctor was very skilled, but also managed to keep the team under control, and took no nonsense from them. She allowed them access when most other doctors wouldn't, and they returned the favour by not pushing the boundaries. "Fill me in Ani." She demanded as they headed towards the trauma room.

"Danny has a stab wound to his back, right hand side. Steve found him in respiratory arrest and managed a make shift needle decompression."

Dr. Pearce observed the pink curly straw protruding from Danny's chest, the end covered by a food bag. "Quick thinking."

"On arrival I intubated, and we scooped and ran. Two IV's established with volplex running. BP tanked two minutes out, now 60/40 heart rate 120. Oxygen saturations have fallen to 75%, and he's getting hard to bag."

"Thanks Ani. Steve I need you to wait here." Dr. Pearce ordered as they entered the trauma room.

"Doc, I need to be with him." Steve stammered.

"No you don't Steve. This has potential to get messy. You do not need to see this. I promise I will give you news as soon as I have it."

One of the nurses took the bag of fluids from Steve, and he was left feeling useless in the hallway. Looking down at his hands he saw Danny's blood staining them. He moved over across from the doors where Danny had disappeared, and slid himself down against the wall. His legs felt wobbly, and his heart was racing. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, effectively hugging himself, and rested his head on his blood stained knees. Danny had to be ok. He had to be. Grace needed him. The team needed him. He needed him.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

"Ok guys we need to do this fast." Dr. Pearce ordered as the team grabbed hold of the sheet and moved Danny across to their gurney. Monitoring equipment was swapped over, and Danny was connected to a ventilator. Ani and Jonah moved to the back of the room, normally they would leave the medical team to it, but this time, knowing the patient so well, they both needed to see the outcome.

"Jason, he needs a central and arterial line. Jenny call blood bank and get them to cross match six units, hang two units of O neg. I want a chest x-ray and Foley now. ABG's, U & E's, FBC."

The team raced to carry out her orders. Soon a chest x-ray was pulled up on the screen. "I need a chest tube kit, he has a massive hemothorax." Dr. Pearce called out moving over to Danny's side.

"BP's dropped to 50/32. Heart rates only 30. We're losing him." Jenny, the nurse called out.

"He's losing too much blood." Dr. Pearce said in frustration, "we need to stop the bleeding." Taking a second to consider her options she nodded to herself, mind made up. "Ok, roll him onto his side. Get me some rib spreaders. I'm gonna perform a Posterolateral thoracotomy, and try and find out where all this blood is coming from."

The team quickly rolled Danny on to his left side. Jenny pulled his right arm up over his head and supported him. No time to worry about asepsis, Dr. Pearce quickly grabbed a scalpel and made an incision from Danny's armpit, curving round to his back. She skilfully dissected through the subcutaneous tissue and exposed the muscle.

"Heart rates down to twelve." Jenny called out.

"Just give me a second longer." Dr. Pearce called out as she sliced through the muscle, finally reaching the ribs. "Ok rib spreader." She yelled holding her hand out and was immediately passed the metal contraption. Inserting the device she cranked the ratchet, forcing Danny's ribs apart and exposing the pleural cavity. A pop could be heard as one of Danny's ribs gave way, forced beyond its flexible capacity. One small cut and blood gushed from Danny's chest cavity, flowing down his back, and splashing on to the floor, covering Dr. Pearce's shoes. She didn't even flinch or step back, just demanded suction, and immediately Jenny sprang into action. Placing her hand into Danny's chest cavity Dr. Pearce felt around then exclaimed, "Got it. Ok, push more blood. I have my finger plugging a small hole in the pulmonary vein."

The team all waited, holding their breaths as more blood was pushed into his system. "BP's picking up, heart rates up to 60." Jenny announced to the teams joy.

"Jason, help me up." Dr. Pearce ordered as she climbed on to the gurney and stabilised her self. "Ok guys, get us to that OR before my finger goes numb." A sterile sheet was thrown over the wound, and the gurney was quickly on the move, crashing through the door and past Steve to the elevator.

Steve's head snapped up at the crash of the doors, his eyes widened at the sight of Dr. Pearce practically straddling Danny. The doors to the trauma room remained open and Steve paled at the sight of all the blood on the floor, Danny's blood, and so much of it.

Ani saw the devastated look on Steve's face and moved over to him. Knowing none of the medical team had time to update Steve she slid down the wall and sat next to him. Steve turned his head to look at her, his eyes wet, and he was clearly terrified he was going to lose his best friend.

"They're taking him to surgery, Steve." Ani explained. "It got pretty hairy in there, and Dr. Pearce was forced to take some drastic measures. She had to cut open his chest, but was able to find a nick in the pulmonary vein and plug it with her finger." Steve just nodded, trying to take it all in. "He's lost a lot of blood, Steve, and is critical but he is fighting, harder than I've ever seen anyone before. Not many people make it to the hospital with that amount of damage. The fact that he was laid on his back must have slowed some of the blood loss down. You certainly helped buy him some time with your quick thinking." She continued placing her hand on Steve's knee to comfort him. "He'll be in surgery for a while, why don't we get you to the waiting room and get you a coffee, plenty of sugar to help with that adrenaline dump, huh?"

Steve let out a long sigh and nodded. "Thanks Ani, I don't know how to thank you."

"Just keep me updated on his condition. Jonah and I have a soft spot for you guys." She smiled as she stood and offered Steve a hand up. He shakily got to his feet, and they headed to the waiting room. Steve thanked Ani for her support then he sat drinking his coffee, alone, in the waiting room. He knew he needed to update the team, and check on Grace, but he needed to get his emotions back in check first. Grace needed him to be strong for her. He couldn't do anymore to help Danny, but he could take care of Grace.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: Thanks for all the reviews. Glad you liked the last chapter. This one is much more mellow. **

**Chapter Six**

"Uncle Steve." Grace called out and ran into his arms. Steve enveloped her and kissed the top of her head.

"Gracie, are you ok?" Steve whispered.

She nodded then pulled back to look her uncle in the face. "Uncle Chin said Danno was stabbed, is he ok?"

Steve looked to Leilani who had followed Grace into the room and smiled his thanks to her for bringing Grace. He pulled Grace on to his knee and observed her red puffy eyes. "Gracie, I'm not gonna lie to you honey, your dad is really hurt. The doctors are doing their very best to try and help him, and he is in surgery right now to fix the damage."

"He'll be ok though, right?"

"I know your dad is fighting with everything he's got. There is no way he would leave you without putting up a fight. Your dad loves you so much Gracie, don't ever forget that."

"I know he does, Uncle Steve. I don't understand why Ian hurt Danno though."

"We don't know for sure he did, Grace. But we will find out who did, and why. I promise you." Steve replied giving Grace another hug. Just holding Danny's daughter made him feel closer to his partner.

Grace started to quietly cry once again and buried her face in Steve's chest. His heart felt like it was breaking. Seeing the little girl, he loved like a niece, so desperate to know her dad would be ok. He pulled her in closer, and just held her. Nothing he could say could make things better. Not until they knew Danny had made it through surgery.

An hour later Chin, and Kono arrived. Grace was now sat, quietly, flipping through a magazine, but it was obvious to everyone that her mind was a million miles away.

Steve and Leilani stood to greet them, and moved away so the young girl couldn't hear their conversation. Leilani had wanted to question further about Danny's injuries, but knew Steve wouldn't want to talk about them in front of Grace.

"How is he?" Were the first words from Kono.

"In surgery, But it's bad, Very bad. They almost lost him when we got here. Dr. Pearce managed to find the source of the bleeding and plug it with her finger. I think they had to cut into his chest in the ER. It gave them enough time to get to the OR. I haven't heard anything for the past hour and a half, so I guess he is still hanging in there." Steve explained, keeping his voice low.

All three tried to keep their reaction to the news under wraps, acutely aware that Grace was watching them. "Did you get Grace's friend home ok?" Steve asked trying to move the conversation along.

"Yeah we did, and Ian Richards is now our only suspect. He'd been back to the Parkers, cleared out his clothes, and stolen a wallet and Rolex. We have an APB out on him and his car."

"Why the hell did he attack Danny? The guy was a nanny for Pete's sake." Steve asked confused.

"Well we think he gave the Parkers fake references. We have them here and will chase them up. We wanted to see how Danny was doing first." Kono explained, and Steve nodded. Chins phone rang interrupting the conversation.

"Hey Duke." Chin answered seeing the caller ID.

"Chin any word on Danny?" The seasoned cop asked.

"He's in surgery, but its touch and go." Chin replied.

"We've all got everything crossed here Chin, and the whole force is on the look out for this guy. I wanted to let you know that his car has been found abandoned, downtown. A bloody knife was on the passenger seat. CSU are on it and will confirm his prints. All airports and docks have been notified."

"Thanks Duke. We appreciate all the help." Chin said, grateful for HPD's support.

"No problem, just keep me updated so I can keep all the officers informed."

"Will do," Chin said hanging up the phone.

"HPD found the car and knife. No sign of Richards, so far." Chin informed them.

"I don't know about you, but I could do with a coffee, why don't I go get us all one." Leilani offered.

"Thanks Leilani." Chin smiled grateful to have her near by.

Chin and Kono sat at one side of the room making calls to chase up Ian Richards references, and getting background on him. Grace had fallen into a fitful doze, exhausted by the crying and adrenaline. Her head rested on Steve's blood stained knees, feet across Leilani's lap.

"All these references are fakes." Kono announced hanging up her phone.

"That certainly doesn't surprise me, after what I've just heard from Charlie." Chin said moving closer to the resting trio, and signalling Kono over. "Charlie ran prints on the knife. They came back as an Ian Roberts." He whispered so as to not wake Grace.

"He's been using an alias?" Steve asked, disgusted that this man had been working as a nanny, surrounded by vulnerable children.

"Yes. Ian Roberts used to be a teacher. I say used to because he was dismissed after an incident with a pupil. He lost his temper and threw a text book at the kid that needed stitches to the face. He was struck off, never allowed to teach again, and ordered to take anger management sessions. Then a year later he was arrested for domestic assault on his boyfriend. Well ex boyfriend. They had split a month earlier, the ex decided not to press charges. It seems Roberts then moved to Hawaii and changed his surname to get a job with fake references."

"Son of a bitch has a temper on him then. So maybe Danny upset him some how, and he lost it." Steve replied anger evident in his voice.

"The girls didn't hear them arguing though." Kono said trying to work out what had happened.

"You're right. Danny also didn't have any defensive wounds. Whatever happened took Danny by surprise." Steve summarised. "When we catch this guy I'm gonna kill him." Steve said coldly. "What he has put Danny through, Grace through. I'm gonna make him pay."

"Steve I know you're hurting, but killing the guy will get you nowhere but Halawa. That's not gonna help Danny, or Grace." Chin said trying to calm his friend. They all wanted this guy to pay, but they would do it by the book.

They were pulled from their conversation by the arrival of a tired looking Dr. Pearce. She had taken the time to shower, and change, not wanting to expose Danny's Ohana to the trauma of seeing her blood stained clothes and shoes. She smiled sweetly, seeing Grace out for the count then looked at the adults in the room. Her face was blank, she was giving nothing away. In that second all four of Danny's friends held their breaths, desperate to hear if their friend had won, or lost, his battle.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: Thanks for all the reviews, thanks to those guests that I can't thank personally. **

**Chapter Seven**

"Doc?" Steve asked, his voice almost cracking with nerves.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. That boy is a fighter." Dr. Pearce said taking a seat amongst the group. "He made it through surgery and should be settled in the ICU by now. We were able to repair the damage to the vein and lung, and stabilised the rib that broke during the procedure. He now has a chest drain in that will stay for a few days, until the hemothorax has resolved."

"So he's going to be ok?" Kono dared to ask.

"At the moment he is still very ill. He lost a lot of blood, which we are still replacing, and his vitals are still lower than I'd like, but I expect them to improve with time. We will be watching him very carefully for any complications, and he will remain in the ICU for several days. I have decided to keep him on the ventilator until the morning, to give his body a chance to recover and take the strain off his lung, give it a head start with the healing."

"That doesn't really answer Kono's question, doc." Steve replied.

Dr. Pearce smiled. "Baring any complications, yes he should be fine. We are keeping a close eye out for infection, and I have started him on some strong antibiotics, as a precaution. Unfortunately, because of Danny's dire condition when he was brought in, I had to act fast, which meant there wasn't time for sterile precautions."

"Ani told me you made a bold move. Thank you so much, doc. You saved his life." Steve said with a sigh.

"Well it was a team effort. Your pink straw trick was pretty bold too. If you really want to thank me, do it by catching the man that did this to him." Dr. Pearce stated.

"Oh we will doc. We know who did it, we just don't know why, or where he is now. HPD are on it. At the moment Danny is our main concern." Kono promised.

"I know you will. Now my main concern is keeping on top of Danny's pain, once he is awake. Thoracotomies are notoriously painful, and pain control can be difficult, but we will do our best to keep him comfortable. Now, I can take you to him if you like. Grace too, as long as she has someone with her at all times."

"Thank you." The whole team smiled.

Steve gently tried to rouse Grace. "Gracie, we can go see Danno now."

Sleepy eyes opened, and her little hand rubbed her eyes, "is Danno ok?"

"Grace." Dr. Pearce spoke gently, and the young girl turned her head. "Your dad had to have surgery too fix his lung. At the moment he is very poorly, and needs the help of a machine to breathe. But your dad is very strong, and I'm happy with the progress he is making. We're giving him special medicine to keep him asleep because he has a tube down his throat, which is connected to a breathing machine, and it doesn't feel nice. So while he needs that, I want him to sleep and save his energy."

Grace just nodded in understanding. "You can go see him if you want, but he is connected to lots of monitors, drips, and wires that can look a bit scary, but are all there to help your dad."

"I want to see Danno. I don't care about all those things." Grace quietly replied.

"Ok then." Dr. Pearce smiled. "Let's go see your dad."

Everyone followed after Dr. Pearce, Steve carrying Grace on his hip, her arms wrapped around his neck. Steve thought to him self how Grace was growing into a mature young woman, but in this instance, she was a scared little girl who needed her daddy.

When they arrived at the ICU doors they were surprised to find two uniformed officers stood guard. "Officer Ike." Kono said, recognising one of her fellow training academy graduates.

"Sergeant Lukela sent us over. Two officers will be here at all times until this Richards/Roberts guy is found." Ike explained.

"Remind me to thank Duke." Steve said to Chin, "He always thinks of everything."

"We have officers scouring the island for this guy. Some even came in on their day off, when they heard what happened. I hope Detective Williams is doing ok."

"Thank you." Chin smiled. "He is hanging in there, and the doctor is hopeful for a good recovery."

"That's good to hear, sir. Do you mind if we report that back to HPD?" Ike asked.

"Please do. It will save me ringing Duke just yet, but please send our thanks, and tell him I'll touch base with him later." Steve said, then moved past them and entered the ICU. He knew that Grace was just as keen to get to Danny as he was.

Dr. Pearce paused outside Danny's room and slid back the glass door. Steve nodded his thanks then entered the room, heading straight to the bed. Danny lay motionless, except for the rise and fall of his chest, and that was only with the help of a machine.

Danny seemed lost amongst the overwhelming equipment surrounding the bed. He looked pale, and was obviously still in need of the blood transfusing via the central line that had been placed in the right side of his neck. Several lumens connected to various drugs were keeping Danny stable and comfortable. His lips were lax around the tube that protruded from his mouth and was connected to the ventilator.

Grace slid down from Steve's arms, cautiously moved closer to the bed, and took hold of Danny's left hand. An arterial line was secured by his wrist, looped around his thumb, and up his arm.

Grace rubbed her thumb across Danny's fingers, "we're all here Danno. Our Ohana is here and gonna keep you safe. I'm so sorry I made you invite that man into our home." She said wiping a tear from her eye with her free hand.

"Hey, hey, Grace. Don't you dare go there sweetheart. None of this is your fault." Steve said, placing his hand on her shoulder, pulling her up close against his legs, and then placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Danno is gonna be so proud of you when he hears how you called for help."

Grace nodded then gave a small sniff, wiping away another tear. Danny always told Grace that she was his everything, his reason for living, but it worked both ways. Grace idolised her father, he was always there for her, always showing her how much he loved her. He had given up everything to move to Hawaii to be near her. Grace loved her mother very much, but she had always been a Daddy's girl. Always preferring him to tuck her in at night, and read her a story, as she grew up. Of course that could have been because her father always put so much energy into his story telling, whereas her mother just simply read the story.

Grace knew her father had a dangerous job. Risked his life most days, and she was proud of him for that. But she knew that he always took every safety precaution, so that he could come home to her. This had shaken her to her core, a simple play date gone so wrong. Her father had been attacked, and almost killed, in their own home. While she and her friend giggled over boys.

"He will be ok? Won't he Uncle Steve?" Grace whispered.

"Of course he will. What does your dad always say? They breed them tough in Jersey." Steve reassured.

The team, and Leilani, settled down to keep Danny company even if he wasn't aware of their presence. Each of Danny's friends couldn't help but keep looking at the large, plastic, canister that hung below his bed. An underwater seal, that drained blood stained fluid from Danny's chest, the occasional bubble rising up from fluid in the tube swinging back and forth with every breath.

The team were relieved to see that Dawn had been pulled in as Danny's nurse, and she moved around them with ease, checking vitals, making sure the tube was working well, and monitoring Danny's output via a catheter draining into a measuring receptacle.

Grace hadn't moved from her dad's side, still clinging to his hand. She was now sat on a chair, her hand reaching through the cot sides that were raised on each side of the bed. Steve had remained right by her side, watching her for the slightest sign that she wasn't coping. He was lost in his thoughts when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He quickly reached in and pulled it out, seeing it was Duke. He quickly slipped out to the waiting room, signalling to Chin and Kono to take over his watch of Grace.

"Duke, hey." Steve answered.

"Steve, sorry to bother you but I thought you would want in on the take down."

"Take down? You know where Roberts is?" Steve asked suddenly anxious.

"Kalaeloa Airport called in that they had spotted Roberts. He's trying to board a flight to Singapore. They have checked him in, but told everyone there is a problem with the plane to give us time to get there." Duke explained.

"Ok, we're on our way. Set up a perimeter around the airport, but wait for us. I want to take the bastard down." Steve ordered and hung up the phone. He quickly returned to Danny's room and turned to Leilani, "could you stay with Grace? We need to go, now." Steve asked.

"Of course," Leilani replied and moved over to Grace's side.

"What's going on Uncle Steve?" Grace asked, surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"We need to go arrest Ian. HPD know where he is, we're gonna go bring him in, for Danno." Steve explained.

"Ok. But hurry back won't you, and Uncle Steve?"

"Yes Gracie." Steve answered seeing the girl's apprehension to finish her sentence.

"Just don't do anything Danno wouldn't do. Ok?"

"Ok Grace. I promise." Steve answered, understanding that Grace meant don't go too far arresting him. She didn't want Steve in trouble for hurting him.

Leilani wrapped an arm around Grace's shoulder as they both watched the team leave, hell bent on bringing the man who had hurt their friend to justice.

**TBC**

**Ian is in trouble now.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: Thanks for all the reviews, sorry I haven't had time to reply individually to them. Thought you might like the next instalment before I head to work. **

**Chapter Eight**

The team arrived at the airport and quickly exited Kono's car. Steve grabbed one of Kono's back up guns from the lock box in the trunk, seeing as he didn't have his own, and they made their way to meet Duke.

"Where is he, Duke?" Steve asked as he stormed through the airport.

"He's in the departure lounge. I have plain clothed officers on him." Duke explained and started leading the way to Roberts.

Chin grabbed hold of Steve's arm, and quietly said, "Remember what you promised Grace, Steve. She needs you more than ever now, let's do this quick and clean."

Steve just nodded. His focus was purely on taking down the man that hurt his friend.

As they entered the lounge they saw Roberts sat at the far end. He looked nervous, bouncing his knee repeatedly, and fiddling with his boarding pass. His eyes were flitting around the lounge, and as the team drew nearer, his eyes locked with Steve's. There was an instant look of recognition and he sprang to his feet and started to run, Steve hot on his heels.

Roberts was desperate to make his bid for freedom, seeing the security checkpoint ahead of him he made a running leap and cleared the stall, pushing both security guards to the floor, causing one of them to hit his head as he went down, knocking him out cold. Kono ran to the guard's side, yelling to Chin, "go after Steve, make sure he doesn't kill him." Chin nodded and continued to sprint after Steve who had now managed to close the gap between himself and Roberts.

Roberts made it to the runway, Steve was only about twenty feet behind, and Chin pushed himself harder to catch up to them. There was a chain link fence on the far side of the runway, and this was obviously Roberts intended destination. He sped up as he sensed Steve hot on his trail. Roberts jumped and grabbed hold of the fence, attempting to haul himself over, but he had underestimated how close Steve now was, and was pulled back down to the ground with a thud, the air being forced out of his lungs. Steve was on him in a second, attempting to secure his arms, but Roberts managed to kick out, catching Steve in the groin. That gave him a second to stumble to his feet again in an attempt to get away, but Steve had had enough of this cat and mouse game now. He grabbed hold of Roberts arm causing him to spin around. A solid punch followed through to connect squarely with Danny's attacker's jaw, a bone cracking crunch echoing across the airfield. Roberts was sent sprawling to the ground, and this time, Steve grabbed hold of his wrist and wrenched his other arm behind his back. He zip tied Roberts arms behind him, ignoring the scream of pain as the man's shoulder popped out of the socket.

By the time Chin had caught up with the pair, Roberts was groaning in pain, his jaw obviously shattered, and Steve was shaking his hand, his knuckles already bruising. Chin dragged Roberts to his feet and started reading him his rights as several HPD officers joined them.

"You ok Steve?" Chin asked handing Roberts off to one of the uniformed officers.

"Yeah, I am now we have the bastard. Get him out of my sight." Steve ordered while cradling his hand to his chest.

Duke arrived at the scene, "don't worry Steve, we will take care of this scum. You get back to Danny, and by the looks of things, get your hand checked out." He said pointing out the bruised, swollen hand.

"Thanks Duke." Chin said leading Steve back towards the airport.

"No problem, by the looks of things he isn't going to be up to interrogation for a while. Looks like you broke his jaw." Duke replied, a smug smile gracing his lips.

"Yeah, his jaw, my hand. Shit, how do I explain this to Grace?" Steve sighed.

"The guy is alive. A broken jaw and dislocated shoulder is pretty tame really. Come on, the sooner we get you checked out the sooner we can get back to Danny." Chin said steering Steve over to Kono who was now waiting by the airport door, relieved to see Roberts in custody.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

"Well I've got your X-rays back, Steve." Dr. Pearce said entering the exam room, where Steve, Chin, and Kono waited, all eager to get back to Danny.

"So what's the verdict, doc?" Steve smiled.

"You have a hairline fracture to your knuckle. I'll strap it up, and you need to ice it. I suggest you keep it elevated for a bit to help with the swelling, but knowing you, you will refuse to use a sling."

Steve just gave a guilty smile. Dr. Pearce really did know the team too well. "Do you know if they have finished with Roberts yet? I want to speak with him. I need to know why he did what he did. Grace will want answers."

Dr. Pearce gave him a smug smile. "I'm afraid Grace will have to wait for those answers. He has just been taken to surgery to have his jaw wired shut. You did quite a number on it. He won't be talking for several weeks."

"Damn." Steve sighed. "Now we can't interrogate him."

"Don't worry boss. We have enough evidence to book him without his statement." Kono stated. "And he deserved it. He resisted arrest and assaulted a security officer. I thought you were very restrained with him."

Steve gave a sly smile, "it did feel good to punch him. The broken knuckle was well worth it."

"Well let's get that fixed, shall we." Dr. Pearce said pulling over a cart with supplies, "then I'm going home. It's been a very long day."

"We really are grateful for everything you have done, Dr. Pearce." Chin said.

"I know. Don't worry. I'll be back first thing in the morning to review Danny. He is in good hands with the ICU staff overnight."

"We know doc. I think I'm even going to take Grace home for the night. Danny wouldn't want her here all night."

"That's a good idea. I'll stay with Danny overnight." Kono said. "You should take Leilani home, Chin. She's been great with Grace today." She suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Steve said admiring his newly splinted hand. "Now, I just have to get Grace to agree to it."

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny didn't look any different upon returning to his room, except maybe he had a little more colour to his completion. Grace was still by her father's side, and was now reading him a book from her phone. The remains of some sandwiches could be seen on the table behind them. Leilani was the first to see them return, and stood to greet them, "did you get him?"

"We did." Chin replied causing Leilani to smile with relief.

"I managed to get her to eat a little." She informed them.

"Uncle Steve." Grace called as she let go of her dad's hand and ran to greet the team. Did you get him? Did you find out why he hurt Danno?"

"We got him, Grace." Steve said pulling her in for a hug. "But we can't talk to him for a while."

"What have you done to your hand?" She exclaimed upon seeing the splinted fingers, and started to examine the injured limb.

"I'm fine, Grace. I just cracked my knuckle. How's your dad doing?" Steve asked not wanting Grace to focus on his injury and ask too many questions.

"He's the same. I've been reading to him. You punched Ian, didn't you?" Grace said standing back and looking Steve straight in the eye.

Steve let out a small laugh, amazed by Grace's perceptiveness. "Yes Grace, I punched him, but in my defence he was making a run for it."

"That's ok then." She said returning to Danny's side, but Steve saw a slight grin on her face.

"Grace, sweetheart, it's getting late now. I think you should come back to mine and get some sleep. Kono is going to stay the night with your dad." Steve said placing his good hand around Grace's shoulder.

"No. I want to stay with Danno." Grace whined.

"You know your dad would want you to get some rest. Listen, we will go home, get some rest, and come back first thing in the morning. Then when they wake him up we'll be here for him, and not too tired."

Grace seemed to consider it. "Auntie Kono is staying with him? He won't be alone?"

"I promise, I'll stay right here Grace." Kono reassured her pulling up a chair and taking a seat, being very careful not to knock the chest drain hanging from the bed, and taking Danny's hand in hers.

"Ok then." Grace agreed then turned back to her father. "We'll be back in the morning, Danno. I love you." She said leaning over and carefully kissing Danny on the forehead, well away from the tube that was helping her father to breath.

Soon everyone filed out of the ICU, leaving Kono behind. "Just you and me now Danny, you better behave yourself and keep getting better. We all need you off this machine and awake. You're the only one that can fill in the blanks to what happened with Roberts, and we all need some answers. Grace really needs her dad too. She is putting a brave face on, but she really needs her Danno right now." She glanced down at their two hands entwined, and smiled at the slight twitch of fingers within her own.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Note: Sorry this is a short one but it just split better that way. For the guest that wanted to be a fly on Steve's wall- here you go.**

**Chapter Nine**

Steve leapt out of bed and grabbed his gun, running to his guest bedroom where he'd left Grace to sleep the evening before.

"Danno!" The scream echoed around the house once more, from the scared young girl.

Pushing the door open he saw Grace sat up in bed, tears rolling down her cheek, and her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

Realising there was no threat he placed the gun on the dresser, quickly sat on the bed, and gathered Grace up into a hug.

"Gracie, sweetheart, what's wrong?" He asked a little out of his depth.

"Sorry," Grace sniffled. "I had a bad dream."

Her little body was still trembling, and she felt cold to the touch, so Steve pulled the bed clothes around her.

"It's ok, you're safe. You want to tell me about the dream?" Grace just shook her head and buried her face closer into Steve's chest. "It will help to talk about it. You can tell me anything Grace. Was it about Danno?"

Her little head nodded in reply. "I dreamt he ...he died." She forced out, before breaking down in sobs again.

Steve hugged her and rubbed small circles on her back, waiting for her to calm a little. "Grace your dad is doing well. I called Kono before I went to bed, and the doctors are all happy with his progress. He's gonna be awake in a few hours."

"I know. It was just a dream. But it felt so real." Grace replied wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm just so scared I'm gonna lose him."

"I know sweetheart, me too. But your dad is strong, and he has you to live for. I'm sure he will be fine." Steve comforted.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace whispered.

"Yes Gracie."

"Could I maybe...sleep with you tonight? Danno always lets me sleep with him after a bad dream. I don't want to be alone." Grace admitted.

Steve's heart broke for the scared little girl. He had never shared his bed with a child before, but he would do anything to help make his niece feel better. So pushing aside his feelings of awkwardness, he replied, "of course you can. But no hogging the covers."

Grace gave a little laugh, "it's ok, it's Danno that usually does that."

Steve guided Grace to his room, collecting the gun on the way out and stashing it back in the bedside cabinet. Back in bed he covered Grace with the covers, and berated himself for not calling Rachel sooner. Grace needed a parent, and as Danny wasn't able to be there for her, she needed her mom. Making a promise to him self that he would call Rachel first thing in the morning, and fill her in, so she could fly back to the island, he settled down, leaving the bedside lamp on in the hope it would help sooth Grace.

5-0-5-5-0-5-0

Danny's Ohana were sat in the waiting room of the ICU, all except Steve, who was in Danny's room while Dr. Pearce reviewed his best friend. Chin and Leilani had arrived at Steve's early that morning while Grace was in the shower, and Steve had just finished his call to Rachel who was now desperately trying to get a flight back to the island to be with Grace. Steve had been surprised at how concerned over Danny she had been, and he had promised to keep her up to date, and apologised for not informing her earlier. Rachel had simply accepted the apology, and thanked him for taking care of Grace.

Leilani had made her way upstairs to Grace with a bag full of clothes that she and Chin had had the foresight to buy on the way over so Grace had something to wear, as all her things were still at her and Danny's house. After a quick breakfast they all then headed to the hospital to join Kono.

Chin offered to drive his cousin home to get some rest, but she insisted she had slept enough on the cot that had been wheeled into Danny's room. Once Dr. Pearce arrived, they all left to allow room to assess Danny properly.

Grace was the first to see Steve exiting the ICU, headed their way. The smile on his face instantly put everyone at ease. Joining the group, Steve explained, "Dr. Pearce is really happy with him and they have already stopped the sedation. Hopefully he should be waking up soon. The chest drain needs to stay for now, but he's out of danger, and should make a full recovery with time."

"That's great." Grace said standing and going to run past Steve to her dad, but Steve caught her arm and gently pulled her back. "Whoa Grace. You can't go in yet." He bent down so he was on the same level as Grace. "You can't go in until Danno is awake. He might be a bit confused waking up, and in pain, and he wouldn't want you to see him like that. He is already gonna be mad at me that I let you see him on the ventilator."

Grace immediately looked disappointed. She wanted to be with her father. "Grace, how about you and I go shopping for some more clothes for you? We can get your dad some things too." Leilani suggested. "Someone will ring us as soon as your dad is up for a visit."

"I don't need any more clothes. I have lots at home." Grace replied.

"Grace, your house is still a crime scene. You can't go back there yet." Chin explained. "Why don't you go shopping with Leilani, and I promise, Steve, Kono and I, will be with your dad and call you as soon as he is well enough to see you."

"Ok." Grace agreed, but they could all see she was unhappy to leave her father.

"Rachel should hopefully be here tomorrow morning, so she'll only need another set of clothes, and something to sleep in, my t-shirt buried her last night." Steve said pulling out his wallet to offer Leilani some cash, but she waved it off.

The team members watched Leilani lead Grace out of the waiting room, before turning and heading to Danny's room. All keen to be there for Danny's awakening, and hopefully find out what happened between him and Ian Roberts.

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: Time for Danny to wake up and fill in some of the blanks. **

**Chapter Ten**

Thirty minutes later Danny started to show signs of awakening. Steve was the first to notice the slight movement of his partners head, and the twitching of fingers. As Steve started to rise to his feet, Danny slowly opened his eyes and blinked. Steve placed his splinted hand on Danny's shoulder, "Danny, you with me?" He asked as he hit the nurse call button with his other hand.

Danny's eyes tracked around the room then locked on to Steve, who saw the moment when Danny's brain jolted to full awareness. Danny choked around the tube in his throat and brought his right hand up to attempt to pull at the obstructive item. Steve quickly caught hold of the straying hand and reassured Danny. "Just try and calm down Danny. You're in the hospital. You're gonna be fine. The tube is helping with your breathing and has to stay 'til doc gets here. Just go with it bud."

Danny gave a very slight head nod, and squeezed Steve's hand, his teeth almost clamped to the tube. Steve could see the fear in his friend's eyes and knew without words what Danny was asking. "Grace is fine, Danny. She's with Leilani. Just relax, Dawns here now." He said as Dawn rushed to Danny's side and immediately started hitting buttons on the ventilator that was flashing and beeping in response to Danny's distress.

Dr. Pearce came in seconds behind her, and Chin and Kono hung back allowing her room. "Good to see you awake, Danny. I'm going to get rid of that tube soon. I just need to make sure you can manage without it first. Just bear with me." She said disconnecting the ventilator so Danny was breathing completely on his own. Danny's eyes screwed up in obviously pain, and his breaths came fast and shallow. Dr. Pearce ordered Dawn to administer a bolus of pain relief, and gradually Danny's breathing began to even out, and deepen. "That's good Danny, now we can get rid of the tube." She said cutting lose the tape that secured it in place. As instructed Danny gave a small cough and the tube slid out from his trachea.

Dawn secured a mask over Danny's face, and he finally opened his eyes then attempted to push the mask away. "Danny you need the oxygen, you had significant trauma to your right lung, and the mask has to stay for a while, ok?"

Danny rolled his eyes and gave a slight nod. "How about some ice chips first, to help sooth your throat?" Dawn suggested, and Steve grabbed the chips from behind him, and passed them to Dawn, who spooned a few into Danny's mouth, then secured the oxygen mask in place.

"Thanks." Danny whispered from behind the mask, his voice weak and croaky.

Dr. Pearce was busy studying Danny's vitals, then after a quick listen to his chest with her stethoscope, and a check of the chest drain, she smiled at the team. "You're doing really well Danny. We'll leave you and your team for a bit, but try to take it easy. You have a chest drain and surgical wound on your right side that will cause a fair amount of pain. We need to keep on top of that so you can breath well, the machine is set to give you constant pain relief, but if you need more let us know, and we can bolus it like before."

Danny gave a nod and closed his eyes, so Dr. Pearce and Dawn left the room, everyone assuming Danny had drifted back off to sleep. Chin and Kono pulled their chairs closer to Danny's bed once again, and Danny surprised them all by opening his eyes and giving them a small smile. "Where did you say Grace was again?"

"Leilani took her shopping, brah." Chin explained. "She's keeping her distracted until you're ready for a visit."

"Is she ok? Marley?" Danny asked as he remembered the girls screaming his name.

"They're both fine Danny. Shaken up, but unhurt." Steve reassured his friend.

"They were...screaming for me." Danny explained between controlled breaths. "I couldn't get ...to them."

"Ian had shut them in Grace's room. They couldn't get out. Grace knew something was wrong, so called Steve, who had her called us. I found them trapped in the room, but unhurt." Kono reassured him.

Relieved that both girls were unhurt, Danny smiled and let out a small sigh which caused him to cough and wince as the chest tube made itself known. "What about...Ian?"

"In custody. We caught him trying to flee the island. You don't have to worry about him. You're safe. You just need to focus on getting better." Steve explained, causing Danny to smile again then his eyes narrowed in on his partner's hand, and the splinted fingers.

"What happened to your hand?"

"It's nothing. I just fractured a knuckle." Steve said, blowing off his injury.

"How?" Danny probed.

"He punched Roberts. Danny you should have seen it, it was beautiful." Kono explained proud of her boss's actions. "Roberts jaw is shattered, and they've wired it shut."

Danny looked at her confused, "who's Roberts?"

"Ian Richards real name." Chin explained. "He was using an alias, and gave the Parkers fake references."

"Oh." Danny simply replied. Still trying to process all that had happened. He had focused on the fact that the girls were unhurt, and was trying not to think about his own injuries, or the recovery he had ahead of him.

"Danny, I know you're tired and not well, but do you think you could tell us what happened?" Kono softly asked.

Danny swallowed and nodded, "I was washing fruit for the girls. He came up behind me and stabbed me."

"But why?" Steve asked, desperate to understand why this man had suddenly turned on his friend.

"I think I hurt his feelings." Danny replied, then lifted the oxygen mask a little and indicated the ice chips. Kono immediately helped him with some more to soothe his sore, dry throat.

"Because you hurt his feelings? Danny if everyone whose feelings you hurt attacked you, you would have been dead a long time ago. There has to be more to it than that." Steve questioned.

"He made a move on me." Danny explained a little embarrassed.

"A move? What like a choke hold?" Steve asked completely misunderstanding what Danny was saying.

Danny just stared at his partner, his mouth open like a fish, Kono gave a little giggle understanding exactly what Danny meant. Danny finally replied. "No you Neanderthal. Why does everything have to be violence with you? He tried to kiss me."

"What?" Steve asked in shock, his eyes widening, "why would he try to kiss you, you're not gay."

"Which is what I politely told him, but he seemed to think you and I, were more partner, partners. He wanted me to break up with you, and be with him." Danny explained, and then had to take a few deep breaths to recover.

"I don't know which I should be insulted by more?" Steve replied sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. "The fact that he thought I was gay, or the fact that he thought you would give up all this for him." Steve finished by uncrossing his arms and indicated his fine physique.

Danny gave a small laugh at Steve's comment then started to cough. "Don't make me laugh, you bastard. It hurts."

Steve lent forward and placed his good hand on Danny's forearm. "Easy, Danny, watch your breathing, in and out slowly." Danny nodded that he was ok and sank back into the pillows, exhausted.

"So he didn't take the rejection well." Kono surmised.

"I guess not. I told him it was ok, a misunderstanding, and he went to freshen up. Next thing I felt a sharp pain, and he was right behind me, whispering in my ear." Danny explained, shuddering as he remembered the words that had chilled him to the bone.

"What did he say, Danny?" Chin coached.

"If he couldn't have me, no one could." Danny replied and closed his eyes. Fatigue was setting in fast now.

"Oh man, this guy is lolo. We will need to get a psyche review." Kono exclaimed.

"The guy is obviously a nut job, if he took a liking to Danny." Steve joked trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey, is it that hard to believe a man could find me attractive." Danny yawned as his eyes remained closed.

Steve was about to bite back with a quick quip, relieved to be able to banter with his partner after the shocking events of the day before, but he was stopped as the monitor beside Danny alarmed as his oxygen levels dipped below a satisfactory level. "Enough talking now, Danny, and get some rest. We'll call Leilani and get her to bring Grace in. She is desperate to see you awake."

A smile spread across Danny's face at the mention of his daughter's name, and his shoulders relaxed as exhaustion won out, and he slipped back to sleep.

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Note: Thanks for all the reviews. Storyfan101 suggested a sequal, which got me thinking of ideas. Would you be interested in Ian - the return. **

**Chapter Eleven**

The reunion between father and daughter was hard to watch. Danny was still sleeping when Grace skipped into his room, Leilani in tow, and the disappointment was evident as her face fell. But she quietly resumed her position by Danny's left side, holding onto his hand, and her legs nervously swinging. When Danny finally stirred it was all too much for Grace and she threw herself into his out stretched arm, and broke down on the spot. Sobbing into his shoulder Danny was distraught and struggled to comfort his little girl, so he removed the oxygen mask, much to the annoyance of Dawn, and whispered in Grace's ear while rubbing circles on her back. No one could hear what he was whispering, but whatever was said between the two, it seemed to settle Grace, and finally she lifted her head, to show red rimmed eyes and tear streaked cheeks, but she smiled at her father. Grace then carefully replaced Danny's face mask and returned to her seat, but they both clung to each other's hand.

The episode clearly left Danny struggling with worry for his daughter, and it was obvious he was in pain from the small, short breaths he had begun to take once more. Steve left the room to find Dawn, and she returned and administered another bolus of pain relief which left Danny fighting a fuzzy feeling and nausea. So Dawn then administer more drugs to help with the sickness. Finally Danny dozed off, only to have confused dreams about Ian, and the girls crying for help.

When Danny finally emerged from his drug induced slumber he found the team still surrounding his bed, talking quietly. He now felt less nauseous, and his mind felt much clearer. But the images from his dream still plagued him, and what was worse, the pain in his chest and back had started to grow. Each breath sent a sharp pain through his chest, reminding him of the chest tube in situ. Danny attempted to join in with some of the conversation, but his voice was weak and muffled behind the oxygen mask, and talking caused more pain, so on the whole he was happy to just listen, Grace still holding his hand.

Danny closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain, but it just made him aware of all the other little aches present. His neck felt stiff from the central line, the plastic clamps on each lumen irritating his skin. If he moved his left wrist slightly, the arterial line would pull. The cardiac leads pulled against his chest hair, and then there was the constant uncomfortable feeling of needing to empty his bladder. But when he had asked Dawn about it he'd been informed of a tube in a rather delicate place to take care of that need.

Feeling completely miserable, but lucky to be alive, Danny gave his daughter a small smile when he caught her cautiously watching him. However she wasn't the only one watching him. Steve was also watching Danny closely. There was now heavy pain lines around his eyes, and his breaths had once again turned to shallow and fast pants.

"Danny, do you need more pain relief?" Steve asked concerned.

"No. I'm good." He replied but it was obviously a lie.

"Danny. You're obviously in pain. Let me call Dawn in. Your breathing isn't good bud. Your oxygen levels are dropping." Steve pleaded.

"No, Steven. I don't want anymore morphine. It makes me feel sick and loopy. I don't like it." Danny replied.

Steve backed down allowing Danny some control, but it was obvious to everyone, including Grace, that Danny was in a lot of pain and struggling. Grace started to rub up and down her dad's arm, making sure she didn't catch the arterial line, and Danny was obviously finding it comforting as he closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. But it wasn't making much difference, and Danny suddenly started to shake. Finally he opened his eyes and saw Kono watching him anxiously, but her eyes kept flicking to Grace.

Danny turned his head to see Grace better, he saw tears in her eyes, and he came undone. "Kono...Grace...please," he managed to grunt out between breaths and Kono instantly understood.

"Come on Grace, let's take a walk." She said ushering her out of the room before she even had a chance to protest.

The second she was out of earshot, Danny let out a moan and Steve leapt to his feet and grabbed hold of his hand. Chin fled the room in search of help.

Dawn raced into the room, and headed straight to the morphine pump. "No." Danny called out removing the mask so he could be heard better, "I don't want anymore morphine." He insisted.

"Danny you're in pain, and your oxygen levels are dropping." Dawn replied replacing the oxygen mask back over his face.

"Makes me… feel...like crap." Danny explained.

"Ok, hang on a sec." Dawn replied, and went back to the door where she called to one of her colleges, then returned to Danny's side and quickly drew off a sample of blood to test his blood gasses. "My colleague is paging Dr. Pearce. She will be here soon. Then we can try and sort something out. Right now I need you to try and control your breathing. Slow it down." She instructed before leaving the room to run the blood test.

Steve placed his splinted hand on Danny's chest, and his good hand on his forehead, "look at me Danno. Slow your breathing down. Try and raise my hand. Come on, in and out, in and out."

Danny did his best to comply with Steve's request, but the pain was becoming unbearable, and he found himself holding his breath to relieve some of the pain. "Danny, breathe." Steve yelled shaking his best friend's chest and causing Danny to groan then take a much larger breath.

Dr. Pearce swept into the room with Dawn immediately behind her, "Danny what's all this nonsense about you refusing pain relief."

"Makes...me feel...bad," Danny managed between small, short pants.

"Danny, you need to get your breathing back under control, you're acidadotic, which isn't good." She explained looking at the read out that Dawn had supplied her from the sample she had just taken. Then she increased the oxygen flowing through Danny's mask. "If we don't get your oxygen levels back up, I will have to intubate you again."

"Couldn't you try a different type of pain relief?" Leilani asked, "Epidural, or nerve block?"

"Yes, now he is awake we could certainly try it. Dawn can you call for an urgent anaesthetist consult, and get Danny a muscle relaxant to see if that will help in the meantime. Danny, I'm going to get the anaesthetist to site an epidural, it will numb the area but shouldn't make you feel ill." Dr. Pearce explained.

"K." Danny nodded as the machines he was connected to alarmed, and his lips started to take on a blue tinge.

Dawn quickly returned and swabbed a port on the central line, then injected the muscle relaxant.

"Not long now, Danno, keep breathing steady, in, out, in, out." Steve kept his hand on Danny's chest to anchor his friend, who finally seemed to be listening and getting his breathing under a small amount of control, with the help of the muscle relaxant.

Danny finally opened his eyes to slits, and mumbled, "Don't call...me Danno."

Dr. Trent, the anaesthetist, arrived and Dr. Pearce filled him in on Danny's condition, and need to try a new pain relief.

The grey haired man agreed with the need to try an epidural, and hurried to set up a trolley for the procedure, while Dawn showed Chin and Leilani out to the waiting room to join Kono and an upset Grace.

Steve had been allowed to stay behind to continue to keep his partner calm. Dawn and another of her nursing colleagues came around to Danny's left side, and Steve moved out of their way. "Danny we need to position you for the epidural, so we are going to roll you onto your left side. Let us do the work."

Danny just nodded, his eyes scrunched shut. Dawn and the other nurse, Mel, grabbed hold of the sheet on Danny's right side, and used it to roll him on to his left side, Dawn carefully supporting the chest drain at the same time. The two nurses worked together to get Danny supported, and carefully bent his legs up, so he was curled around a pillow, opening up the space between his vertebra. Danny winced as his foot got catch on the catheter tubing that ran down his leg, and Mel quickly untangled it to relieve the pinching sensation.

Dr. Trent returned and quickly gowned up, but the burning sensation in Danny's lungs was becoming too much again, and he held his breath once more.

"Detective Williams, you stop breathing again and I will sedate, and intubate you." Dr. Pearce yelled as the alarms started to shrill.

"Sorry." Danny whispered after dragging in a much needed breath.

"Danny, I'm Dr. Trent. Let's get this done fast shall we. Sorry, I should have warned you it would be cold." He apologised as Danny flinched as the cold betadine was wiped over his back to sterilise the skin. "You'll feel a sting now as I numb you up." Dr. Trent explained learning from his mistake.

Danny kept his eyes closed and tried to control his breathing, keeping his breaths steady but still shallow, as any attempt to deepen them caused a sharp pain to sear through his chest and his back muscles to spasm. He felt the stinging of the lignocaine used to numb his skin, then the pressure of the needle being slid into his back.

"You might feel a warm sensation now." Dr. Trent explained as he bolused the medication via the epidural. Then he connected the yellow line to a pump to continue to deliver the medication to make Danny much more comfortable.

Danny felt the warmth enter his back and gradually spread out across his chest. A large see through dressing was placed over his back to secure the line in place, which ran up and over his shoulder, and was taped to the front of his gown. Danny was then carefully manoeuvred on to his back, and as the pain started to ease he dared to take a deeper breath, relieved to find the pain now much better, and improving with every breath.

"Is that better?" Steve dared to ask.

"Oh hell, yes," Danny sighed, totally exhausted now, his eyes remaining closed.

"That's much better Danny, your oxygen levels are improving now." Dawn said as she noted down his vitals and made sure all his lines were secure and comfortable. Then she straightened out the sheet covering him.

Steve moved back to Danny's side from the foot of the bed where he had stood guard, and took hold of his friend's hand. "Try and get some rest, Danny. You look exhausted. Rachel will be here to collect Grace soon, and we will take care of her until then. Sleep."

Danny opened his eyes and looked at his best friend. "Thank you." Was his simple reply as his eyes slid shut again and exhaustion won out.

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**Note: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry I had to put our boy through a bit more torture, but it was never going to be an easy recovery.**

**Looks like I need to start planning a sequel. (whom I kidding. Already brainstormed just need to decide how to whump our poor boy and what injuries to give him.)**

**Chapter Twelve**

Grace was relieved to be allowed to return to her father's room and see him sleeping. This time he seemed to be the most comfortable she had seen him.

"He's doing much better now, Gracie." Steve reassured her. "They changed the type of painkiller your dad is on, and now his chest is numb, so he can breathe much easier."

"That's good, he looks peaceful now." Grace said her voice low so she didn't wake her dad.

"He does." Kono agreed. "So I think that's my cue to head home for a bit. Get a bit more sleep. I can do the night shift again."

"That sounds like a good idea." Chin said pulling his cousin in for a hug. "Leilani and I will drive you home, and then go on a food run, but I'll take the night shift tonight."

"Thanks guys." Steve said pulling Grace over so she was sat right beside him.

"Grace needs you with her at the moment. But we all know, once Rachel gets here, you'll be taking over all the night shifts, so it's the least we can do." Chin said, showing how well he knew Steve.

The three adults left, leaving Steve and Grace alone with a slumbering Danny. An hour later Dawn swept into the room with a coffee for Steve and a strawberry milkshake for Grace, "I brought you both back a treat from the canteen while I had my lunch." She explained giving Grace a wink. She then drew off another blood sample from the arterial line to check that Danny's blood gasses were stable. "If he wakes, and feels up to attempting to eat anything, I can get him some soup." She explained.

Steve thanked her and sipped his coffee, grateful for the nicer cup from the canteen, as opposed to the horrible stuff the machine in the waiting room dispensed. Grace eagerly drank her milkshake, and as she reached the bottom, she slurped through the straw causing it to gurgle, and the noise to rouse Danny.

Danny blinked his eyes open then turned his head searching out the source of the strange noise.

"Sorry, daddy, I didn't mean to wake you." Grace apologised.

Danny smiled relieved to find he was still mainly pain free, "its ok monkey. Looks like you enjoyed it."

"Yep," Grace smiled. "Dawn got it for me. How are you feeling now, daddy?"

Danny considered his answer for a second, "much better now. I can breathe better. I still feel so tired though."

"I think that's pretty normal, considering what you've been through. Your body just needs some time to recover." Steve said.

Danny nodded and then started to fidget a little. "Hey, what's wrong? What do you need?" Steve asked concerned.

"I just...I need to sit up a bit."

"Ok, that's easy to fix. Hang tight a sec." Steve said grabbing the bed control and slowly raising Danny's head. "Better?"

"Yeah thanks." Danny said taking a look around his room, carefully observing the machinery he was attached to. Pumps whirring as they delivered drugs into his system, and a soft beep of the heart monitor. "Everyone else take off?"

"Yeah Kono went home to sleep, seeing as she spent the night here, and Chin and Leilani have gone on a food run."

"Kono stayed." Danny smiled.

"Yeah, so I could take care of munch kin here." Steve explained ruffling Grace's hair and causing her to frown.

"Thank you, for taking care of Grace, for everything." Danny said trying not to tear up.

"I'm glad I could." Steve replied placing his right hand on Danny's shoulder, revealing his splinted fingers.

"I guess I should thank you for that too." Danny smiled and indicated the bruised hand.

"Now that was all my pleasure." Steve replied then placed both hands over Grace's ears. "And so was the dislocated shoulder." He smirked.

"You know she can still hear you?" Danny said attempting to lick his lips.

"Here," Steve said offering Danny a drink and helping to steady his shaking hand. "Dawn brought you a jug of fresh water in, and said you could have some soup if you fancied trying something to eat."

"Soup doesn't sound too bad." Danny replied realising he was actually hungry.

"Hey Gracie, why don't you go try and find Dawn, and let her know Danno's hungry." Steve suggested, and Grace quickly jumped off her chair and went to locate the nurse.

Steve took the opportunity, while they were alone, to place his hand on Danny's arm and say, "don't ever scare me like that again, Danno. When I found you, like that..." Steve swallowed hard, forcing back the lump that was forming in his throat. "I thought we'd lost you. I can't lose another best friend, another brother, Danny. I only survived losing Freddie, because I met you."

Danny saw the raw emotion on his best friend's face. He carefully moved his right hand and placed it over Steve's that still held his left forearm. "I'm sorry Steve. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I didn't see the attack coming. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologies. Just keep getting better." Steve smiled as Grace returned and interrupted them.

"Dawn is getting you some chicken soup, Danno." She announced then looked weary as she saw both men's faces. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's great, baby, and chicken soup sounds good. Thank you." Danny replied removing his hand from Steve's, but Steve kept his hand on Danny's arm, almost as if he was reassuring himself that Danny was still there.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny managed about half of his soup and was soon back asleep again. Dr. Pearce had returned to review Danny and announced that he was doing well, and would review him again the next morning, where hopefully the oxygen mask could be changed for a nasal cannula, and they would start to mobilise him. All being well, the next day, Danny should be well enough to be moved out of the ICU, and the chest drain removed a day or so after that.

Everyone felt relieved that Danny was on the mend, and with Danny asleep once again they decided to head home to get some rest themselves. All except Chin who was staying the night.

Chin was sat in the chair at the side of Danny's bed when the night nurse came in to check Danny's vitals and epidural. Noting down the figures from the monitors she then roused Danny and proceeded to check the level of cover the epidural was providing, and then checked the site to make sure it hadn't migrated. Once done she bid Danny good night and dimmed the lights. Danny sighed and looked around the room, spotting Chin sat in the chair he smiled, "hey, you get the night shift?"

"Sure did brah. You comfortable there, do you need anything?"

"I'm good. Thanks for staying, you don't have to though, you know that right?"

"I want to Danny. We're Ohana. Enough said." Chin replied and Danny smiled and closed his eyes again.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Steve and Grace returned to the hospital early the next morning, after both having a good nights sleep. Grace had felt much better after seeing her father awake and more comfortable, and even managing to eat something. Then she had managed to speak with her mother, who had reassured her she would be at the hospital the following morning. Exiting the lift and entering the ICU Steve saw Chin waiting outside Danny's room.

"Morning," Chin said looking up and seeing the approaching pair.

"Everything ok?" Steve asked concerned.

"Yeah, the nurses are just freshening him up." Chin answered with a yawn.

"You have a good night?" Steve asked seeing that Chin looked tired.

"Not too bad. The nurses were in and out a lot, but we had an early morning. Danny spiked a temp. He has a low grade fever, the nurses don't seem too concerned, but I'm worried he is brewing an infection."

"Damn. Listen why don't you head home now, I promise I'll message you once he has been reviewed by Dr. Pearce. Grace and I will keep him company." Steve suggested.

"Thanks. I think I will." Chin said patting his boss on the back.

"Here, Uncle Chin." Grace said holding out one of two paper bags she held. "Breakfast."

Chin beamed as the smell from the bag hit his nose. "Argh, these smell good. Thank you Keiki."

"Your welcome, we got Danno some too." She smiled then joined Steve to wait for the nurses to exit the room. Steve's posture grew tense as a new worry of infection ate away at him.

**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

**Note: He he. Don't worry Danny isn't gonna have to fight off sepsis now, but couldn't have him bouncing right back. Only one more chapter to go after this. **

**Next Ian story is planned, but I'm working on another currently. **

**Chapter Thirteen**

Steve and Grace were finally allowed into Danny's room, so Grace ran straight in to greet her dad, but Steve hung back and collared Dawn as she left. "Chin said he has a fever."

"He does, but its low grade. Dr. Pearce will be here soon to review him. Don't panic, it might just mean a change in antibiotics. His other vitals are strong, and his lung function is holding steady. He feels weak, but on the whole he is doing well. Go sit with him, don't let him eat too many of those sugary delights I just saw Grace run by with. I expect one saved for me." She joked.

"I can do better than one." Steve said holding up the bag he held in his hand. "For all the staff, we do appreciate everything that has been done for Danny, and putting up with us all."

"Thank you. These will go down a treat in the staff room." She replied taking the bag of baked goods.

Steve entered the room and was relieved to see Danny sat up in bed looking not too bad, considering everything, and he was in conversation with Grace. Dawn had done a great job of styling Danny's hair so he looked much more like his normal self. But he was still wearing a horrible hospital gown that fastened at each shoulder, and he was still connected to all the monitors.

Danny gave Steve a nod of acknowledgement but continued to listen to Grace as she told him that they had brought in Malasadas for all the medical team.

"Morning guys," Kono said as she entered the room. "Looks like great minds think alike." She laughed as she held up another bag from the bakery.

"Oh cocoa puffs." Grace exclaimed and dived right in.

"Steven, did you not feed my daughter?" Danny teased.

"Of course I did. But it was a healthy breakfast instead of your usual heart attack foods." Steve teased right back.

"I had yoghurt and fruit." Grace said backing up her Uncle. "But these are too yummy to miss out on."

"She's your daughter, through and through, Danny." Steve exclaimed to which Danny just smiled.

Danny managed one cocoa puff, and two thirds of a Malasada, before his poor appetite won out and he had to admit defeat. Steve watched him with a critical eye, as he could tell Danny was feeling sicker than the night before, and hidden behind the face mask were flushed cheeks.

Dr. Pearce finally arrived at ten am accompanied by Dawn, so Kono took Grace for a walk down to the gift shop to fetch Danny some magazines, while she did her exam. Steve remained by Danny's side with his consent.

"Morning Danny, how are you today?" Dr. Pearce asked as she looked over the latest vitals and blood gas results.

"I've been better." Danny said from behind the mask. "But the pain is under control."

"Well that is good. How about we swap this mask for a nasal cannula now, so we can hear you better? Your gasses look good." She said as she removed the mask and placed the cannula instead.

"I feel better already." Danny sighed.

"Well like I said, your gasses look good. As do most of your vitals, but I'm not happy about this temperature of yours. I want to check under these dressings to see what's going on." Dr. Pearce explained moving to the sink to wash her hands before putting on some gloves.

Steve moved closer to the bed, keen to see how much scaring his partner was likely to have.

Dr. Pearce unclipped Danny's gown and pulled it down, "we'll check Steve's handy work first shall we?" And she started peeling off the dressing that was coving where Steve had cut into Danny's chest and placed the straw.

"Excuse me, your handy work?" Danny asked raising an eyebrow at Steve.

"I had to do something to try and help you. I owe Grace a new curly straw by the way." Steve explained.

"Oh god," Danny groaned. "I don't even want to know what you did with it." He risked a glance down at the now exposed small wound that was neatly stitched.

"Well that one looks fine." Dr. Pearce stated, and Dawn quickly replaced the dressing. "Now let's check the thoracotomy wound, I suspect that is the likely source." Dawn helped Danny roll slightly on to his left side, then pulled Danny's arm forward, so it wasn't in the way, and Steve stepped forward to support his friend. Dr. Pearce removed the dressing to show a long run of tension sutures and staples. The wound looked red, and there was a slight discharge. "Yep, this looks infected, Dawn can I get a swab please?"

Dawn moved over to a trolley that was sat in the corner and returned with the swab. Carefully Dr. Pearce took the sample, then set up a trolley and proceeded to clean the wound and redress it.

"We'll send the swab off, but in the meantime I'm gonna add in another antibiotic, make sure we get on top of this infection before it can take hold. Now I'm sure that has worn you out, so rest, but I'd like you to get out of bed this afternoon. We'll keep checking your gasses until this evening, and if they stay stable, we can get rid of that arterial line, and once you're more mobile we can get rid of that catheter."

"Well that certainly is motivation to get out of bed." Danny smiled.

"Indeed." Dr. Pearce said patting Danny's leg.

"Doc, will this affect his transfer out of here?" Steve asked.

"No, it shouldn't. All being well I will review again tomorrow, and we should be able to move him to a normal room. I'm happy with how the chest tube is draining, and we'll get chest X-Rays tomorrow, we may be able to remove it tomorrow too."

"That's great." Steve smiled and Danny nodded as Dawn popped his gown back up and helped him get into a more comfortable position.

Dawn and Dr. Pearce then left, only for Dawn to pop her head back around the door. "Danny, you have another visitor if you're feeling up to it. It's Grace's mother."

"Yeah, it's fine." Danny replied, reaching for the bed control and raising his head a little.

Rachel entered the room, pulling behind her a small, wheeled, travel case. She had obviously come straight from the airport. She stopped at the foot of the bed and her eyes immediately widened as she took in the sight before her. Eyes started to roam over Danny, lingering on the central line, then the chest drain, her mouth falling open. "Oh god, Daniel," She said raising her hand to her mouth.

"It's good to see you too, Rach." Danny smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Rachel replied, mentally shaking herself. "It's just, God, Danny. All this time I've worried that you were going to get hurt, killed even, through your job, and look what happens. All of this, because you let Grace have a friend round to play?"

"Yeah, I think I need to reassess my opinion on Steve being the trouble magnet." Danny replied causing Steve to bark out a laugh.

"Sit down Rach, Grace should be back soon. Kono took her to the gift shop." Danny said indicating the chair next to Steve.

Rachel sat then asked Steve, "So what have the doctors said? How is he doing?"

"He's doing ok. He has a bit of a fever at the moment, because his wound is infected, but he's on antibiotics for it. He should be moved out of here by the morning, hopefully home a few days after that."

"Oh that is a relief." She smiled.

"How long are you here for?" Danny asked. He knew Grace would be better off with Rachel while he was in hospital and recovering, but he didn't want to lose his precious time with his daughter.

"I can stay until you are discharged, then perhaps a few days more. But I left Charlie with Stanley."

"That's fine, Rach. I just need a few days. Grace has already missed school today. I don't want her missing any more. I do appreciate you flying all this way."

"Of course I was going to come. I do still care about you, Daniel. And our daughter needed me. How's she been coping?"

"Gracie's a trooper." Steve said proudly. "She was upset and is worried over Danny, but she is doing ok."

"I can't thank you enough for taking care of her, Commander." Rachel replied.

"Please, it's Steve. And it was my honour."

"Mom!" A shout came from the door as Grace and Kono returned.

"Sweetheart," Rachel exclaimed turning and catching Grace up in a big hug.

"Danno's getting better now." She informed her mother.

"So I've just been told." Rachel smiled.

Danny smiled too. He loved having his daughter live with him practically full time, but he hated that it meant Grace could go weeks without being able to physically see her mother. He fought a yawn and his eyes grew heavier as he listened to the chatter between mother and daughter. Exhausted from the examination, and the continued fever, Danny couldn't hold out any longer and he slipped off to sleep.

**TBC**


	14. Chapter 14

**Note: A massive thanks to everyone still reading and seeing it through to the end. A special thanks to those still reviewing. As always I have to give a big yay to Wenwalke for all her help.**

**im afraid the writing machine is being forced to slow down as I have taken on extra shifts at work til end of November as we are really short staffed and cant call in just any nurse to work, you need to be specially trained to work in my area so I have stepped in to help cover some of the shifts. Extra pennies for Disney land trip too.**

**I do have a one shot ready to go though and will post it mon.**

**Chapter Fourteen**

Danny carefully eased himself down into the chair by his bed and focused on his breathing, doing his best to ignore the pain in his back. He had just managed a trip to the bathroom, alone, which was a big improvement on his first attempt to get out of bed. Rachel had taken Grace home much to Grace's disgust. And that afternoon Dawn had helped Danny out of bed, with Steve's help. Danny was sure if Steve hadn't have supported him he would have ended up on the floor. However each time got a little easier, and as hoped, Danny had been moved out of the ICU the next morning. After X-Rays, the chest drain had also been removed. Danny's temperature had continued to grumble on with a, low grade, pyrexia, so Dr. Pearce had ordered all lines to be removed, which unfortunately included the epidural.

Danny now only had the one IV access in the back of his left hand, which he cursed every time he moved it. Still on IV antibiotics, intermittent muscle relaxants, and pain relief, Danny longed for it to be removed, but accepted it needed to stay, for now. Dr. Pearce was happy with his progress, and now the focus was on rebuilding his physical stamina, and strengthening his lung. The physiotherapist had put him through his paces with breathing exercises, and Steve had made sure he had stuck to his regime.

Rachel had brought Grace by after school the day before, and she came laden down with balloons and pictures to decorate Danny's new room. Steve, as expected, had refused to leave his partner's side, and had spent the previous night sleeping in the chair that Danny was now sat in.

"Are you ok Detective Williams?" June, Danny's nurse for the day asked as she entered the room.

"Just recovering from a trip to the bathroom," Danny answered, his eyes remaining shut as he shifted his weight in an attempt to ease the pain that had been building for the past hour. While having the epidural out had been a good step in his recovery, it now meant he was in pain again. Nowhere near as bad as before, but he was still dependant on heavy pain relieve to allow him to take the much needed deep breaths to strengthen his lung, and reduce the risk of developing pneumonia.

"I have your next round of IV antibiotics here." June explained, "And some more pain relief. It's oral this time though. Dr. Pearce wants to try and manage it with pills now, so we can get you home."

"That sound good," Steve said from the doorway. He had just returned from a quick trip home to shower and change. "Any idea when he could be released?"

"Released? You make it sound like I'm doing time." Danny teased.

"Discharged then," Steve corrected himself.

"Hopefully tomorrow," Dr. Pearce answered from behind him, and motioned for Steve to enter the room so she could talk to both of them. "Your last blood tests look good, your infection markers are down, and I expect the fever to be gone by tonight. If you manage ok today, on the oral painkillers, I can discharge you in oral antibiotics and pain meds. You will need to keep doing the breathing exercises and take things easy. But you can recover at home just as well as here from now on."

"That's great. Thanks Dr. Pearce, for everything. From what I've been told, you really did save my life, and I'm gonna have an impressive scar to prove it."

"You're welcome Danny." She blushed. "I'm guessing you will have plenty of support once home."

"Yeah, he will. He's coming to stay at mine, at first." Steve answered.

"I am?" Danny asked, but not at all surprised.

"Yeah, for a few days at least, until you're able to look after your self and Gracie. That's if you even want to go back to the house." Steve said, unsure if Danny would want to continue living in a house where he was viciously attacked.

"Of course I want to go back. It's our home. I like this house, I'm not gonna let this put me off." Danny said defiantly. "I just...I'm not looking forward to the clean up."

"Already done, Charlie had the CSU guys clean up after they were finished, so we didn't have to deal with it." Steve explained.

"Really? Make sure I thank him."

"Sounds like you're all set then, Danny. Take the meds June just brought you. They will take a little longer to get into your system, and I can see your uncomfortable now. One final IV antibiotic dose tonight, and then it's all oral." Dr. Pearce explained as Danny took the meds and June connected up the antibiotics. Then both women left.

Steve moved over to the bed and perched on the edge. "Thanks for letting me stay." Danny suddenly looked up and said.

"Of course, and if you feel up to it, maybe this weekend we could have a cookout. Invite everyone round. It will give you the opportunity to thank Charlie. Max and Kamekona have been asking about you too. We can invite Duke. He was great in helping us catch Ian."

Danny suddenly lost a bit of the colour he had regained back at the mention of Ian's name, "what's happening with him?" It was the first time the team had mentioned him since Danny had explained what had happened, and while Danny seemed to be dealing well with the attack, it was now obvious he had some issues to work through.

Steve moved closer to Danny and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder, the large splint now gone, but the fingers still taped together. "He had his injuries dealt with, and was moved to Halawa. His jaw will be wired shut for a month." Steve said an evil glint in his eye. "He's been charged with attempted murder, and his brief is advising him to plead guilty. He should be sentenced next month."

"That's good." Danny replied quietly, and Steve gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"So cook out, what do you say?" Steve asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Sure." Danny said raising his head. "Sounds like fun."

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny walked out to the lanai and watched his friends gather. Discharged from hospital a few days before, Danny had been taking it easy at Steve's. Still easily tired, and having to deal with painful muscle spasms as the muscle in his back that had been damaged slowly healed. Danny was frustrated at the amount of time he spent napping. He hadn't been able to make it through the day without at least two naps, so far.

Having just woken from one of those naps, he had made his way outside to find everyone setting out food. Spotting Rachel sat to one side he made his way over to her, waving to Steve who was setting up the grill and had noticed Danny was awake. "Hey, are you joining us?" He asked easing himself down into the chair next to her.

"Steve invited me to stay, is that ok?" She asked.

"Of course it's ok. Thanks for bringing Grace by."

"Well, I spoke with Steve last night, and we decided that I would head back home tomorrow. You're on the mend, and Grace seems ok now, so I really must get back to Charlie. I brought some of Graces things for her to stay. Steve says you can both stay here for as long as needed, and the team will make sure Grace gets to school. I'm booked on the morning flight."

"Oh, ok." Danny replied a little taken a back to be out of the loop. "Steve didn't say."

"He wanted it to be a surprise." Rachel smiled. "You know Danny? I'm well aware of what you gave up to move to Hawaii, how close to your family you were, and how hard it must have been to leave them. But I'm so glad you found yourself a new family here. I don't blame you for not wanting to leave them, to go through all that again. I'm sorry I tried to make you. As much as I miss Grace, she loves it here with you and the team, and they obviously love you both."

Danny smiled and swallowed a lump in his throat. He and Rachel hadn't spoken like this in years. "We're very lucky to have them. We both love them very much too, even if they are a bunch of goofs." Danny laughed as he watched Steve chase Grace and scoop her up, before hanging her upside down, where Kono proceeded to tickle her. Grace's shrill cry for help carried across the beach, and Danny pushed up from the chair and offered a hand to Rachel, "come on, I think it's time for an intervention before our daughter ends up buried in the sand up to her neck."

"They wouldn't really do that, would they?" Rachel cautiously asked.

"Er... no, in all fairness it's usually Steve that lets Grace bury him." Danny laughed as he stepped onto the sand to join his Ohana.

**THE END**


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